


In with the tide

by Spiritphoned



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: ...does this count as a rarepair?? I don’t actually know, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I WAS gonna have this end sad but I had a twitter poll and everyone wanted it to end happy, I almost forgot that tag lol, I should mention it only gets sad in like the last two chapters but other then that it’s real cute, It starts off really sweet but the last two chapters get kinda sad actually, Lesbian rights!, MerMay, Mermaid Sonia, Rarepair, Sonaki, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-03-19 23:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18980635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiritphoned/pseuds/Spiritphoned
Summary: Ever since she was a little girl, Chiaki Nanami has felt a special connection to two things: video games and the ocean.





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since she was a little girl, Chiaki Nanami has felt a special connection to two things: video games and the ocean.

She could vividly recall being 4 years old and and sitting cross legged in front of her old tv with its bright flashy adverts displaying the latest new games that had just been released by the top companies across the world. Her toys lay discarded behind as her eyes remained glued to the screen. It was that point she decided she would stop at nothing to get her hands on a shiny new video game. At six years old, her father bought Chiaki her very own DS, with brand new games and everything at her constant insistence. The device never left her side, her tiny little hands constantly excitedly pressing the buttons as colors and figures flashed and danced across the screens. The thing was taken with her everywhere, always shoved away into tiny pockets and brought into car rides no matter how short or long.

At 8 years old, Chiaki visited the ocean for the first time.

She sat excitedly bouncing in the back seat, eyes still glued to the screen of her newest game. Her father sat in the drivers seat, mostly focused on driving. Chiaki wouldn’t notice this, but every so often her father would glance up at her from the rear view mirror, with a smile growing on his face when he saw his daughter so excited in the back seat.

Only a half an hour ago, he told her he had a surprise for her. She was sitting in the living room, playing some sort of puzzle game until her dad called her into the kitchen. When she walked in he was holding some sort of bag. “What’s in the bag” She asked curiously. Her dad only smiled in response as he hid the bag behind his back. “It’s a surprise.” He said in a mock whisper, and her face lit up. “A surprise! Really!?” She said happily, eyes sparkling as she bounced on her heels. Laughing softly, he took the bag away from behind his back and held it out towards her. Excitedly, she grabbed the bag away from his hands with a chirp of “Thank you dad!” and began to open it, until a gentle hand from her father closed it. “Not so fast, Chiaki. You have to wait until we get to where we’re going to open it.” For a moment, Chiaki looked a little crestfallen, but immediately perked back up. “Okay dad!” She said, closing the bag. Her father picked up her hand, and gently led her along out of the kitchen to their front door.

Now, she sat with said bag beside her in the back. Being the good kid she was, she hasn’t peeped into the bag once, not yet. But the curiously inside her was just DYING to know what was inside that bag... perhaps a peep inside wouldn’t hurt, would it? A moment passed before Chiaki hit the pause button on her current game. Ever so slowly, as if she was reaching out to pet a sleeping animal, her hand crept closer and closer to the unopened bag, until her hand rested upon the lip of the bag. 

A firm “Chiaki!” From her dad up front sent her hand reeling back as if she had just been burned. “I said no looking until we got there.” He sighed with a shake of his head. Ashamed she hung her head low. “Sorry dad...” she said, her hand falling to her lap. “It’s alright, we’re almost there anyways.” Chiaki’s head perked up immediately. “Really?” She questioned, her eyes wide. “Yep!” Her father replied in a cheery tone. The next few minutes seemed to drag on for an eternity, when in actuality, it was only 5 minutes. 

After they parked in a large and very full parking lot, her father clutched her hand as she hopped out of the backseat, bag in hand. “Do I have to close my eyes?” She asked. Her father laughed. “No, you don’t sweetie”. Chiaki hummed in response. “I’m gonna close then anyways.” She stated, and letting her father guide her along by the hand, her dad only smiling in response. The path was fairly straight forward, until Chiaki felt the ground begin to dip and become too steep for her liking. She squeezed her dad’s hand for comfort. The ground quickly leveled out after, and the solid earth become a lot more... soft? Shifting her feet deeper into the soft earth below, she looked up at to where she thought her father was. “Can I open my eyes now?” She asked. Her father let go of her hand and ruffled her hair as he answered “of course you can!”, the smile and joy evident in his voice.

When Chiaki opened her eyes, bright sunlight met her eyes, and she saw a sight she would never forget.

Below her feet was gold and soft sand that seemed to stretch across the shore for forever. On the other side of the sand, gentle blue waves lapped at the shore, reflecting sparkles of sunlight back up into the sky, the water seemingly going off onto the edge of the world. To her left, a large wooden pier stood, going far into the distance. On it, she could see multiple buildings and people walking across, the noise from up there barely reaching the people below. To her right, there were rocks and caves that were constantly being splashed by waves that seemingly stretched into the sky far above the rest of the beach, and into the water. There was so many of them, and one could only imagine the mazes and difficult climbs that those rocks hid. 

Her eyes stretched wide. Her mouth even hung slightly agape. “It’s the ocean, sweetie.” Her father said warmly above her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Chiaki turned to face her dad. “It’s beautiful!” She cried out, running up to him to give him a hug. Her little arms couldn’t fully wrap around him, but she didn’t care, she was too busy burying her face into her dads leg. Her father laughed again, and unstuck his daughter from his leg as he lifted her up for a proper hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed with all of her non-existing strength. He had to tug a little bit to get her to let go of him, and once she did, he placed her down back into the sand. “I thought it’d be nice for you to go out once, and get you off those games for once. Maybe you could even meet a friend here!” He said, handing over the bag over to Chiaki, which she didn’t even realize she dropped. 

Grabbing the bag, her face couldn’t help but scrunch up at the mention of friends. She was perfectly fine being alone with her games, thank you very much. She didn’t realize her father saw her make that face until she heard him say “don’t be like that Chiaki. You can’t be alone forever, you know that”. Chiaki puffed out her cheeks in frustration. But that didn’t matter right now to her. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she began to open the bag which had plagued her curiosity for too long. She opened it, and reached past the pink blanket (which she would later realize was a towel) and pulled out some sort of fabric.

It was a simple blue-green one piece bathing suit, with pale pink polka dots all across it. When she saw the swim suit, she couldn’t help but gasp. “I assume you like it?” Her dad asked, beaming. “I love it!” She cried out, jumping up and down and clutching the clothes to her chest. Her father smiled warmly, and gently took her hand into his own. “Let's go find somewhere you can change into it, yeah?”

After that initial visit she visited the ocean several times after, and every time her heart filled with the same feeling of wonder and joy, one only comparable to how she felt whenever she managed to get her hands on a new game she wanted, or when she finished a hard level on a game. She would sit on the rocks, on the pier, or in the sand, playing some handheld console, blissfully unaware of the stares she garnered, or she would wade around the shallows, letting the waves and tides lap at her ankles and calves. Perhaps it was the fact that she couldn’t visit as much as she would like, what with the way her father worked hard enough for the both of them. She would work around the house harder then she would work normally, volunteering for chores and even promising that if she was able to go to the beach she wouldn’t ask for a new game ever again (she still always would). And every time her dad said she worked hard enough to earn a trip to the ocean, she would still get the same amount of excitement as before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO UH SONAKI HUH??
> 
> With the end of mermay coming, I figured this would be one of the last chances I would have to publish this, soooo. Yeah. If you follow me on Twitter (which is @narumitsuz btw you should check me out ) you’ll know this is a passion project of mine, so I’m excited to share this finally!!
> 
> HUUUUUUUGE shoutout to @GratonJustin for proofreading this for me!!!! Please follow his twitter he’s a good pal of mine :^)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!! ❤️


	2. Chapter 2

At 10 years old, she met her very best friend.

It was on the first day she asked to go to the beach by herself. She insisted that “she was big enough by now” and “it’s summer, she should be allowed to go by herself” but her father still denied her permission. She sat in the back of the car, still fully absorbed in her newest mystery game. Her pink kitty cat bag beside her held all her games, her towel and newest swimsuit, a blue green one piece with pastel pink ruffles. Legs swinging idly, she didn’t realize they had arrived to their destination until her dad shouted her name trying to gather her attention away from her DS. “Sorry dad” She said, putting her game away into her bag, and stepping out of the car. 

Before long, her peaceful and relaxed walk to the shore alongside her father quickly turned into a sprint towards the changing station on the pier, clearly ready to get her day started here. When she walked out, she slung her backpack over her shoulders, and walked off the pier to where her father sat in the sand on a towel, calmly reading and blissfully unaware of the rowdy families and their children causing a ruckus not so far away from him. “Hey dad, I’m going to explore on the rocks, is that alright?” Chiaki asked as she arrived. He didn’t look up from his book, as he mumbled out a “be safe.” to his daughter. She blinked. Normally her father never let her go on the rocks, at least when ever she asked to go. Adjusting her pack’s straps, she set out to the far right of the beach. 

Reaching the rocks, she did a brief stretch before walking up close, and beginning her climb up to the top. This particular place on the rocks wasn’t so steep, in fact you could probably walk on it, but it was slightly damp, and Chiaki wasn’t willing to risk that. She wasn’t very strong, and if she got hurt, she doubted she was loud enough to get anyone’s attention, so climbing it would be. Her backpack bounced against her back with each new handhold or foothold she found. It didn’t take too long before she reached the smoother peak of this particular rock. The rocks went farther down, to the point where you couldn’t see them in the horizon anymore, but you would have to be insane to climb that far. The rocks had varieties of different slopes, heights, and shapes, and no two rocks were exactly the same. Some rocks even had pools of water forming in their sides or on their tops. walking across this rock, she reached the opposite end and began her decent. This one was much less steeper, one you could walk down comfortably. As Chiaki walked down, the small stones that came loose slid down to the bottom. With a small hop of the short ledge that was the end of that rock face, she was back on the soft sand. 

But her trip didn’t end there. She walked away from the water, up to the flat rock face that was far away from the water line, and turned to face the rock she had yet to climb. The flat rock face that was on the opposite side of the water and sandy beach reached high above the second rock, but was level with the first one. On the top of that flat rock face was the road she drove down to the beach. But she was more interested in the rock opposite of the one she just scaled. Close to the bottom, and flush with the flat wall, a small hole, wide enough for someone as small as her to fit through, ran throughout the entire rock, all the way to the other side. Bending down, Chiaki stuck her arms through the hole first, then squeezed the rest of herself into that hole. 

The tunnel walls were smooth and cool, and she had no problems crawling through on her hands and knees. Her bag did bump the roof a few times, and it was quite dark in the middle, but other then that, there were no problems. It was when she squeezed out on the other side, back into the sunlight, when the problem occurred. When Chiaki crawled out of that tunnel, she landed face first into the soft sand below with a puff of sand rising up around. She sat up, shaking her head to rid her hair of that sand. Standing up and brushing herself off, she began to make her way to the shoreline, when she froze in place immediately. 

Sitting waist deep in the water, a girl with long blonde hair sat in the water. She didn’t seem to notice Chiaki, but Chiaki sure did notice her. There was a beat that passed between the two of them, until Chiaki began to make her move. Treading much quieter than before, she began to creep towards the girl. No one knew about this place but her, or so she thought. She was about halfway to the waterline when she stopped again. Should she go back? Say hi? Tell her to leave? ... that last option seemed a little mean, perhaps not. Her hands clutched nervously at her backpacks straps, and her toes curled into the sand. Licking her lips, she opened her mouth. 

“Um... hello?” Chiaki spoke up, although it came out a lot quieter then expected. Immediately she realized this was a terrible idea, as as soon as she spoke, the blonde girl shot off at the speed of sound under and deeper into the water. Startled, Chiaki jumped back. Despite all her past beach trips, she had never seen someone dive into the water quite so fast. For a moment, she just stood there, waiting to see the other girl resurface. It was a full 30 seconds before she realized she couldn’t see the girl anymore in the water. Once again, she nervously squeezed the straps of her bag. Where in the world could she have gone? She didn’t get swept out to sea, did she? Chiaki called out again.

“Hello? I’m not here to hurt you, or whatever... where are you?” 

This time, her voice was much more sure of herself, more loud. Her voice seemed to hang in the air, before the sounds of the ocean washed it away. No response. Chiaki shifted her weight from foot to foot as she began to scan the ocean in front of her nervously. She couldn’t see anything from this far away. Placing her hand above her eyes to block out the relentless sun, the slowly began to make her way to the water, all the while still looking out into the ocean for that girl. It wasn’t until she was ankle deep into the water when she saw another glimpse of that girl. Leaning over to squint at the smaller rocks father out into the water, hand still blocking the sun, she saw it, a flash of gold hair. 

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Chiaki took a deep breath and as loud as she could, she called out to the girl. “HEY HEY, I CAN SEE YOU! YOU DON’T HAVE TO HIDE!” She doubted she could hear her over the sounds of the waves that far out, but it was worth a shot. There was a tense moment before finally, from behind a rock not so far out, she could see her peek out from behind. Her hair was a beautiful light blond, her eyes a pale blue, and her skin was also incredibly pale and white. From what Chiaki could see, this girl had to be the same age as her. Her nose barely stuck out of the water, and looking at Chiaki, she blinked. Chiaki only smiled and waved in response. The other girl still only stared. Awkwardly, Chiaki stopped waving, and stuck her hand out. She wasn’t really sure why. This did get a response out of the other girl. She curiously tilted her head. Chiaki spoke again to her. “Come on out!” 

There was a moment where everything was still between the two, until with a splash, the mysterious girl dove under the water. Chiaki shot up in surprise, nearly falling over. Quickly regaining her balance, she began to wade deeper into the water until a large splash only a few feet away from her did send her jumping back, and flat into her butt. Once the waves died down, Chiaki realized she was staring directly into a pair of pretty pale blue eyes she recognized from far away. Somehow, within the span of a few seconds, this strange girl managed to swim under the water to the shore directly to Chiaki.

Eyes wide, Chiaki could only stare at this strange girl that appeared only a few feet away. Blinking owlishly, she slowly stood up, the other girl staring at her. The girl sat in waist deep water, the water covering her lower half and obscuring it from sight. Slowly, the odd girl lifted her arm, hand outstretched, towards Chiaki. It took a few moments for Chiaki to process it, but she realized that this girl was offering a handshake. A small smile formed on her face. Sliding her bag off her shoulders and tossing it onto the dry land, the quickly began to wade up to the waist deep water, reaching out to the other girl. The closer she got to the girl, the more her curious expression fell away to one of nervousness. But before she could swim away again, Chiaki gently grabbed her hand and shook it in a hand shake. Smiling warmly at the girl, Chiaki introduced herself. “My name is Chiaki Nanami, what’s yours?” She asked with a tilt of her head. The blonde girl slowly let go of her hand, and stared at Chiaki. There was a moment of silence before she answered.

“Sonia. Sonia Nevermind.”

“... I’ve never met anyone with a name like that.” Chiaki said, inquisitively. Sonia looked at her confused. “I’ve never met anyone with a name like Chiaki Nanami before.” She replied. She sunk lower into the water, looking a little more relaxed. “What are you doing here?” She asked. “Visiting.” Chiaki responded. “What are you doing here?” She asked in turn. 

Sonia suddenly got very ashamed. Her eyes began to lower, and awkwardly rubbed her arm. “I... I washed up.”

“... washed up?” 

Chiaki looked at her, very confused. “How do you wash up? I’m a little lost here.” She asked, and Sonia looked just as confused as her. “I got caught in a net swimming where I was not supposed to be and washed up. See, look!” 

Sonia dove head first into the water, splashing Chiaki in the face. She let out a little yelp, and put her hands up to block the splash in vain. The water hit her face, just barley missing her eyes. Frantically wiping the water off her face, she shook her head to remove the last few drops of water. When she looked to where Sonia once stood, she gasped.

Standing straight up from the water where Sonia once stood, a large, pale blue fish tail had taken her place. The scales shone and sparkled in the light, and the water dripped off in elegant streams. Wrapped around the elegant tail, a raggedy and and holey old fishing net constricted her fins to her sides. Chiaki stood there, mouth agape, shocked. Her body had locked into place, eyes wide with amazement. Peeking up from under the water, Sonia's head resurfaced, and she began to gauge Chiaki’s reaction. When she saw her expression on her face, her tail immediately plunged back under the water, and in a flash, began to skitter away. 

“Wait, no, don’t leave!” Chiaki called out before Sonia could fully flee. Sonia halted her actions, and cautiously began to turn back to Chiaki. “I’m sorry, did I scare you?” She asked Sonia, apologetic. Sonia gently nodded as she began to creep back up to Chiaki. “When I saw your face, I-I was worried you might hurt me. Mother and Father always told me humans would try to hurt me, so I was a little apprehensive. My apologies.” Sonia apologized with a bow of her head. Chiaki blinked. For a mermaid who was (probably) the same age as her, she sure was well spoken. It took a moment for Chiaki to respond. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I just... didn’t think mermaids were real... you are real, right?” Chiaki finished off her sentence with a question and a curious tilt of her head, a habit she had. Sonia in response tilted her head the other way. “Of course. Why would I not be real?” She asked. Chiaki shook her head. “Well, my dad always said mermaids weren’t real, so I assumed he was right.” Sonia hummed in response. She swam up close to where Chiaki stood in the water. “Well, it appears your father was wrong. We are real, we just hide our existence from humans.” She responded. “To be honest, I did not think humans were real either, but I am pretty sure you are real...?” Sonia said, trailing off on the last part. Before Chiaki could respond, Sonia suddenly reached up and squished Chiaki’s cheeks between her hands, which Chiaki now realized were webbed.

Sonia dropped her hands and gasped. “You are real! Amazing!” She cried out in joy, her eyes sparkling. Chiaki laughed. “I’m real... I think.” She said. Sonia swam up to her, her face now inches away from Chiaki’s own. “My first friend is a human friend... how wonderful! How surprising!” She cheered out excitedly. Chiaki’s brow furrowed. She just met this girl, they weren’t really friends yet... heck, Chiaki just discovered that mermaids were real, she doubted she could handle being friends with one. Chiaki opened her mouth to protest for a moment, but stopped. She could see Sonia swimming in circles now, the net trailing behind her, now ignored. She did say something about this being her first real friend ever... and then Chiaki realized something. 

She didn’t have any friends either. No one wanted to talk to the quiet, sleepy girl who sat around playing video games in class all day. It never bothered her, really. But she wondered, what would it be like to talk to someone about what she just learned, to play games with someone other than her father occasionally. Perhaps... perhaps this could be her first friend too. 

Smiling warmly at the mermaid in front of her, she spoke up. “You’re my first real friend too, Sonia.” Upon hearing this, Sonia perked up. “Really? Perhaps we are not so different, you and I... and mother and father always said humans were cruel.” She said, raising a finger to her mouth, thinking. Chiaki spoke up. “Well, some are. But I’m nice, don’t worry.” Sonia looked at her nervously. “If... if that is the case can you not tell any other humans about me?” She asked, eyes nervously flitting around the surrounding rocks. Placing a hand on her heart, Chiaki nodded. “Of course.” Immediately, Sonia’s worry melted away immediately. “Thank you Chiaki Nanami. Oh, I will not tell my family about meeting you either, if they found out, they would be so mad and I would never be allowed to leave my home ever again...” Sonia sighed. “You don’t have to call me my full name, just Chiaki is fine. And why would they not let you leave again?” She asked, looking sadly at Sonia’s dejected face after she mentioned not being able to leave ever again.

“I have always been known to wander away where I am not supposed to go,” Sonia started. “They worry about me, with all the boats and people around the surface. They say it is dangerous, especially when humans are around. And they say it is a bad example for our people too, since my people look up to me.” She finished, and Chiaki looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean, your people look up to you?” She asked. “Oh, I am the princess of my school of merfolk, that is all.” Sonia responded nonchalantly, floating casually down into deeper water. Chiaki jolted in suprise. “You’re a princess as well as a mermaid too?!” She exclaimed in shock, eyes wide in delight. Sonia nodded. “Yes I am. Do you humans not have princes and princesses at all?” She asked, brow furrowing in confusion. Chiaki hummed and crossed her arms. “Well, we used to, a reaaaally long time ago, but not anymore.” Chiaki answered, and Sonia looked at her with surprise. 

“So, are you saying-“ Sonia started to talk before she suddenly cut herself off with a yelp. She had tried to swim forward, but suddenly she fell flat into the water, her head resurfacing soon after. Her hands grabbed at her luminous blue tail, and her eyes were squeezed shut in pain. “Sonia!” Chiaki called out in a panic. Frantically, she waddled as fast as she could in the water, up to her chest. “Are you okay Sonia?” She asked, concerned and worried. Sonia only shook her head. “It is the n-net. It is squeezing my fins shut and it really h-hurts...” she whispered out, her voice tense, breathing through clenched teeth. Her body jolted when she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. From behind her, she softly heard Chiaki say “here, let me help”. Sonia looked at her with shock and slight suspicion in her eyes, but Chiaki paid no mind. Swimming over to where Sonia’s beautiful blue tail was ensnared with crude and unsightly old fishing net, she felt around her tail.

Chiaki silently cursed herself for forgetting about the net that was stuck on Sonia. She had even said to her that that net was the reason she had washed up on shore here. Sighing, she fumbled around the net until near where her tail turned to human upper half, she reached the end, from there it was a quick process of walking around Sonia in a circle, spinning her around and around as the net came unstuck from her body. With one last tug, the net flew off of her body, and into the water below. 

There was a large splash, and from Sonia’s sides, large golden flowing fins quickly fanned out and began to seemingly sparkle in the water below. Sonia sighed in relief, and Chiaki gasped in amazement. They were absolutely stunning, how they flowed with the water, and sparkled just as bright with it. With eyes wide, Chiaki stepped closer. “You’re so pretty...” Chiaki sighed out in wonder, unaware of what she just said. Sonia turned beet red. “Thank you miss Chiaki.” She said with a sheepish grin. “You humans are amazed by the simplest things, really. These fins are just part of me, and part of my people, they are nothing special.” Chiaki tilted her head again. “But I’ve never seen a mermaid before, so this is all new to me...” Chiaki said, suddenly trailing off into thought. Suddenly, she perked up. “Maybe you could teach me about mermaids and stuff!” She said, energetically. “That is a wonderful idea miss Chiaki!” Sonia called out in enthusiastic agreement. “And perhaps you could teach me about humans as well!” Chiaki nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Wait here, I’ll go first and I’ll show you something really cool!” She said enthusiastically.

Sonia watched on with curiosity as Chiaki swam, the waddled, then ran to the shore. Her head tilted to the side as she watched Chiaki fish around in her bag for a moment. There was a few moments where she could hear things shifting and rattling around in the bag until triumphantly, Chiaki lifted the item she was looking for out of her bag. Quickly, she turned back and headed for the water again. She went up to her waist again, and beckoned Sonia to come closer. Gliding smoothly up the Chiaki, Sonia watched as she flipped the small pink rectangle open to reveal two smaller black squares, one on the top, and one on the bottom with multiple different shapes and sizes of buttons on the bottom. Her finger hit some sort of button on the side and the black squares suddenly flashed into an array of brilliant flashing lights with a small chime to accompany it. Chiaki looked over her her mermaid companion and asked “Do you know what video games are?”

~

After that day, they promised to meet again every Sunday (after Sonia’s inquisition into what is a “Sunday”). Each time, Chiaki would stash away something new in her bag for her to teach Sonia about, and how the human world works, and in return, Sonia would bring something from the ocean for her to teach Chiaki about. To make sure she could make it every Sunday, it took a lot of begging and hours of household chores done instead of video games played to make it work with her father, which after a whole week of best behaviour, promised to take his daughter to the ocean every Sunday.

Sunday quickly became her favourite day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAHHHH AND HERE’S SONIA
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, as you can probably tell lol. I wanted Sonia to have a tail that was both cute and elegant, and I thought I did that pretty well!
> 
> Unfortunately, chapter 3 is gonna take a while to finish. Finals are coming up and to be honest, my mental health isn’t the best rn, but I’ll be trying to finish it as quick as I can!!
> 
> Once again, shoutout to @GratonJustin for the proofreading!!
> 
> Follow my Twitter @Narumitsuz for my dumbass thoughts and tweets lol
> 
> Thank you for reading!! ❤️ Comment + Kudos


	3. Chapter 3

At 12 years old, she rode a boat out to sea without anyone’s permission

she sat cross legged on the beach, the sun beaming down on her back. She wore a pink one piece bathing suit, with a gradation to blue green at the bottom. Her bag sat beside her, full of video games and this time, a brand new book. She had saved up for this book for a while, after a few weekends ago when Sonia mentioned wanting it after one of their last stories had ended. In the meantime, she idly sat in the sand, tracing shapes and picture into the sand. It wasn’t uncommon for Sonia to be late to their weekly meetings, after all, her parents had been getting stricter with their rules on where and when she can leave the coral reef that they called their home. For Chiaki however, the exact opposite had occurred. Her father had begun to let her go out of the house more on her own, and even began hinting at buying her a new cell phone. She smiled at the thought.

A few more minutes passed, until Chiaki opened up her bag and began to root around in it. At the very bottom, she found what she was looking for. It was the newest DS model she had just gotten last week. It was the same shade of pink as before, and when she showed it off to Sonia last week, she marveled at the new advanced technology. Opening it up, she turned on her newest game she just got. She settled down into the sand, and watched as the flashy intro scene played, until she could skip to the equally as gaudy main menu.

She wasn’t sure quite how long had passed, but when she looked up at the ocean to check and see if Sonia had arrived yet, the only thing she saw were the rocks peering out of the water. Frowning, she shut her game closed and shoved it into her bag. Making sure said bag was out of reach of the waves, she began to wade up into the water. It splashed around her calves and slowly crept farther up as she wandered further in. Once the water hit her belly button, she stopped, and cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out.

“Soooonia?” Her voice echoed off the rocks all around. No response. Worry began to gnaw at her gut. Perhaps her parents had figured out what she was doing and locked her up forever? What if another person found her, and wasn’t quite so kind as she was? What if she washed up somewhere, caught in a net like she had first found her. This time, more urgently, she began to swim farther out. She couldn’t feel the bottom anymore, and the waves were starting to get a bit rougher, but there was still no sign of Sonia. Biting her lip, Chiaki called out again. “Sonia, are you here?” 

This time, quietly, she could faintly hear a gleeful “Chiaki!” In the distance and the wave of relief that swept over her was enormous. “Sonia, I’m over here!” She called out, and began to make her way to where she heard the voice. 

Her swimming had become much more powerful over the few years she had begun to meet Sonia. She could confidently say she was a good swimmer, strong enough to swim against the ocean currents for quiet some time. It wasn’t a surprise to her that she reached Sonia in hardly any time at all but what surprised her is what Sonia was tugging along with her. When Chiaki turned around a large rock that split the water in two, arching high into the sky, her jaw nearly dropped in shock.

Sonia swam forward, as pretty as ever, with a rope slung over her shoulder, clutching it with both hands. Attached to the other end of that rope was a an old, rickety, wooden boat, with the obvious patch job job here and there. The wood was a dark brown that had withered with age. Chiaki tilted her head in confusion. “You brought... a boat? Is that why you were late?” She asked, the confusion clear in her voice. Sonia grinned wide at her, nodding. “Indeed! While I was making my way over here, I had noticed an odd rope floating in the water. I began to follow the rope and I found at the end, this boat!” She explained, swimming up to Chiaki. Chiaki only nodded slowly in response. The boat drifted to a stop in front of Chiaki, and she could hear Sonia call out from the other side “okay, now get in!” 

Chiaki shook her head softly to herself, and began to back up. “Sonia, I don’t think that’s such a good idea...” she protested. There was silence for a moment, until suddenly with a splash, Sonia’s upper half popped out of the water in front of her. With a yelp, Chiaki pushed herself backwards from the splash. Sonia, however, paid no mind. Instead she looked at her confused. “Why?” She asked, confused, as she watched Chiaki swim her back over to her. Giving the old boat a once over, Chiaki shook her head in disapproval. “Well, first off, it doesn’t look that safe, it’s all old and stuff. And secondly, it’s not even ours...” she reasoned. 

Dejectedly, Sonia looked down, ashamed. “I suppose you are correct. I just thought that perhaps I could have taken you out to sea...” Sonia sighed out, letting the rope drop. Chiaki tilted her head. “Out to sea?” She asked, and Sonia immediately perked up. “Indeed! I thought perhaps you would like to see more of the ocean!” She proudly said, her face lighting up with excitement.

Chiaki placed her hand on her chin thinking. This boat was an old, unstable hunk of trash, and she didn’t trust it one bit. And the fear that when they were so far out, something could go wrong was definitely there. And yet, at the same time, she couldn’t deny that her curiosity was piqued. The idea of going so far out into the water, surrounded by nothing but blue as far the eye could see, it appealed to her. The water was a comfort to her, there was no point deny that. Suddenly, a pair of webbed hands firmly grasping into her shoulder jolted her out of her thoughts. Sonia’s determined face stared back at her, inches away from her own. “I promise I will be careful! I won’t even take you out that far!” She promised, her glossy hair glowing in the sun and with hope shining in her eyes. 

If Sonia said she easing to be careful, she usually was going to be, and to let her down now when she seemed so excited about it earlier felt cruel... Chiaki let out a small smile. “Alright, I’ll ride the boat ou-“ before she could finish, the hands on her shoulders disappeared and suddenly she was pulled under the water in a bone crushing hug. The water surged up around her, and she barely managed to get a gasp of air and squeezed her eyes shut before being fully submerged. 

Sonia’s arms crushed her own arms to her sides as they wrapped around her in a tight squeeze. Against her legs, she could feel her tail wrapping around her hips and brushing her legs, and squeezing her tight as well. Sonia buried her face into her chest, and while Chiaki couldn’t see with her eyes closed, she could firmly bet that she was smiling. The hug, while endearing, was slowly squeezing the life and air out of Chiaki. 

A small kick from Chiaki to Sonia’s tail instantly sent her reeling back and letting go of Chiaki. Chiaki broke surface first, with Sonia splashing up not so far behind. Chiaki had just finished clearing the water from her ears with a shake when she heard Sonias voice. “I am sorry! I was just so happy to hear that you had agreed!” She apologized profusely, hands up in a mock surrender. She opened her mouth to apologize again, until Chiaki took her hands in her own. “It’s okay, you were excited. Just give me some warning next time, okay?” Chiaki asked, and Sonia nodded. She smiled. “Good. Now, lemme grab my stuff off the shore.”

~

Chiaki watched as the shore line and the familiar rocks that stood so high and comforting drifted farther and farther away. Sonia was in the water, tugging the boat along by the rope that was tied to the rusty metal hook at the front. Her bag sat tucked away by her feet, under the wooden board of a seat. As Sonia tugged it along, she kept glancing at Chiaki’s face, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Rather, she looked quite content, resting her chin on her hand and staring at the disappearing shoreline quite contentedly. Upon seeing this, Sonia relaxed. Despite her hesitation at first, it appeared as though Chiaki was enjoying herself.

It was when all of the land had nearly dipped out of view entirely on the horizon that Chiaki asked to stop. Sonia immediately stopped and looked to Chiaki for assurance, checking to see if had upset her. Chiaki still looked the same amount of relaxed as before. 

“I just don’t want to lose sight of the land, y’know?” Chiaki said, taking her head off her hand and stretching her arms far above her head. Sonia watched curiously as she relaxed and reached for her bag, pulling it up onto her lap and rooting around inside. She fumbled around a bit until triumphantly, she pulled out a small and yellowed paperback book. 

At the sight of the book, Sonia’s eyes lit up. Recently, the two of them had been reading a new book series together, and Sonia had instantly fallen in love with the books. Chiaki would often sit on the beach, reading aloud as Sonia rested in the shallow water in front of her, watching intensely as she read for her.

Instantly Sonia reached for the book, bobbing up and using the ledge of the boat as leverage. Her weight sent the boat rocking and Chiaki stumbling around, waving her arms around in an attempt to stay balanced. Sonia pushed away from the boat in a start. “Oh, I am so sorry!” She said, hands flying over her mouth.

Unfortunately, Sonia’s sudden departure from the ledge only sent the boat into a bigger frenzy, which in turn sent poor Chiaki falling down onto the floor of the boat, back against the side, and boil soaring out of her hand.

The book arched high above the water in the sky, yellowed pages flapping in the air as it was tossed about. Chiaki cried out, “No!” as she fumbled around, reaching over the side desperately as the book soared away from her reaching finger tips. But then, just as the book had begun to descend from its peak in the air, a splash of water below erupted and time itself seemed to slow.

Sonia was leaping out of the water, arms outstretched in hopes of catching the book. Little droplets of water caught the bright sun in its reflection, sending brilliant lights like sparkles in every direction. Sonia’s pale blonde hair seemed to wave and flap in the wind in a beautiful manner, despite its dampness. Her golden fins just barely peeled out of the water, glowing in the sun. The sun that shone behind her seemed to back light her in a such a way she appeared as if she was glowing in a holy and ethereal way.

But just as quickly as that moment came, it passed all too quickly as Sonia managed to grab the book, and send it back Chiaki’s way. She caught it with ease and watched as Sonia landed back into the water with a splash. Checking the book over in her hands, it’s was fine save for a few stray droplets that had landed on the covers and the pages. She clutched the book to her chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

There was a splash beside her, and Chiaki looked over to see Sonia surface above the water, her head hung low in shame. “I am very sorry...” she started. “I should have not gotten so excited, it is very improper of me... and look what happened.” She mumbled out, embarrassed. Setting her book aside, Chiaki sat closer to Sonia.

“It’s fine. The book wasn’t damaged too much, so it’s no big deal.” Chiaki said, flashing a reassuring smile. Sonia only sighed. “No... it’s not the book that is the issue.” Chiaki looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“I am supposed to be next in line for the throne in my kingdom. It is expected of me to act properly and like a true princess.” Sonia started. She sank lower into the water and Chiaki had to lean over to see her. “Acting in such a childish way is very unbecoming of me... I can only imagine what my mother would say to me if she had saw me.”

For a moment, Chiaki sat there in silence. Sonia didn’t say anything, leaving the only sound between the two the gentle sound of the waves. Chiaki looked lost in thought, completely silent as she thought of what to say. What could she say? Finally, Sonia broke the silence between the two.

“I am sorry... I accidentally ruined the mood. I will take you back to the shore now, if that is what you want...” she reached for the rope to pull it back, but Chiaki quickly reached out to stop her. Her hand rested on the mermaids shoulder, and she looked back at her, confused.

“It’s okay Sonia. You don’t have to take me back to shore.” Sonia blinked in surprise.

Chiaki continued on. “And... you don’t have to worry about acting like a princess or whatever around me... I don’t mind.” Chiaki pulled her hand away gently and settled back into her seat. Sonia only stared at her in shock.

“I didn’t become friends with you because you were a princess, you know. I became friends with you since I liked you... I liked how fun you were. So, don’t feel like you have to hide that from me, Okay?” She finished, and she looked back at Sonia, smiling softly. A grin slowly grew on her face as well, and she nodded. 

“I... okay. I will not act any different around you, if that is what you want.” Sonia said, joyfully, still smiling.

Chiaki felt inside, her heart becoming warm with happiness at the others smile. It made her happy to make her friend happy. She picked up the book from where it sat on the seat of the boat, and turned to Sonia.

“Thank you Sonia. Now, I think that we have a book to start reading together?”

As she flipped open the pages, she settled in, leaning against the the side of the boat. Sonia folded her arms against the ledge of the boat, and rested her head against them. As Chiaki opened her mouth to speak, she quickly looked back at Sonia, to see a small smile gracing her lips. 

With the waves gently rocking the boat, Chiaki began to speak, her soft voice breaking the comfortable silence between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. 
> 
> Sorry for not updating since... May 30th, 2019. 
> 
> I didn’t forget about this fic, but my motivation to write and my interest in Danganronpa diminished. HOWEVER. I do plan to finish this fic, even if the updates take forever.
> 
> Once again, u could probably tell this was written over a span of months sorry lol?? A bitch been tired 
> 
> Follow my Twitter @spiritphoned for my dumbass tweets
> 
> Thank you for reading 💖


End file.
